Like most other young men, he wants to make trips into town and to see his pals by himself, but the risk of getting his wheels stuck between the train and the platform means he can’t use the public transport system without someone to help him.

When Elliot read our story last week about 86-year-old Margaret Henderson, who has to ring Metro staff at least six hours in advance in order to get the help she needs to travel, he got in touch with a challenge to Metro bosses.

Elliot, who lives close to Tynemouth Metro station, said: “As a 17-year-old, trying to develop my independence, I have just as much right to use the Metro as anyone else my age.

“It is entirely unreasonable to expect me to give six hours notice every time I want to take a quick journey into Newcastle- as a teenager, I don’t often plan that far ahead.”

As well as the risk of wheels getting stuck in the gap between the train and the platform, he says at many stations the only way to change platforms without using steps is to go a long distance out of the way to use road bridges to cross.

Elliot Caswell (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

The teenager said he appreciates much of the help offered by Nexus, such as the companion card, which enables someone to travel with disabled passengers who can’t travel alone for free, but he says things could be made better, suggesting a system such as the ‘Harrington Hump’, which raises one part of a station platform to the level of the train.

Nexus have responded to Elliot’s challenge, saying they are keen to meet with him to see what they can do to help him travel independently.

They claim the Metro is very accessible compared to similar systems, but there’s still more to do.

Huw Lewis, head of customer services and communications at Nexus, said: “Metro is one of very few local rail networks where wheelchair users can travel freely and independently, because of the high standard of accessibility it now offers.”

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He said the six hours of notice needed to get help is less than at most UK stations, where it can be up to 24 hours.

He added: “We recognise there is a problem at Cullercoats where the height between train and platform was left too large when the track was replaced last year. We’re bringing in heavy machinery this weekend to fix this.

“At South Gosforth we are testing a new rubber filler to reduce the gap; we want feedback from passengers on how well this works so we’re keen to see Elliot try it out.

“Tynemouth is a difficult station because Metro uses the historic platform which is on a tight curve creating larger gaps, but we can work with individual passengers on the best place to board.

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“Harrington Humps, which are used to raise one part of a platform, are actually of limited use for Metro. This is partly because wheelchair users on Metro get on at different doors right along the train, but mainly because the problem for us is not height but the horizontal gap to the train, which humps don’t help.”

“Most Metro stations do not have internal lifts or ramps, and for step-free access between platforms going via the street is the quickest route. Where someone has limited mobility and finds this difficult one option is to travel on a couple of stops to use a station with lifts.